Poetic Structure And Literary Techniques English Literature Essay

1. Introduction

I am traveling to take a closer expression at the poetic construction, the characters, and particularly the Corvus corax of Edgar Allan Poes poem The Raven in this short analysis: The poetic construction might non be every bit apparent as it seems when reading the verse form. That is why I want to analyse the metre and beat of this verse form. Furthermore, it would be interesting to cognize how Poe came up with The Raven ‘s construction. Is it based on person else ‘s work or was it entirely his thought? The poetic construction is an indispensable portion of a verse form which is the ground I want to analyse it.

I am traveling to analyse the storyteller ‘s behaviour and his feelings throughout the verse form. How does the storyteller ‘s behaviour and reactions change? Why does he go on speaking to the Corvus corax? Why does he acquire upset? My purpose is to acquire a better apprehension of the storyteller by analysing the verse form.

The Corvus corax is the most of import subject which is likely the ground for this verse form ‘s name. Why did Poe compose about a Corvus corax and non some other animate being? What does the Corvus corax typify? And how does the storyteller react to the Corvus corax ‘s words which merely consists of the changeless repeat of the word “ nevermore ” ? My purpose is to be able to reply all the inquiries above at the terminal of this term paper.

2. Poetic Structure and Literary Techniques

Poe ‘s The Raven is a narrative verse form which was foremost published in 1845.[ 1 ]It consists of 18 stanzas incorporating six lines each.

The metre of Poe ‘s The Raven is by and large trochaic octameter. There are eight pess to each line of which the first syllable is stressed and the 2nd 1 is unstressed.[ 2 ]. Harmonizing to Poe himself, The Raven “ is octameter acatalectic jumping with heptameter catalectic and ending with tetrameter catalectic ” , thereby beliing the position of it being trochaic octameter. The metrical signifier of the lines was modified from that used by Elizabeth Barrett in her Poem Lady Geraldine ‘s Courtship.[ 3 ]Poe acknowledged that he had offered “ no originality ” with respect to the verse form ‘s beat or metre.[ 4 ]

The rime strategy used by Poe is systematically ABCBB, which was besides borrowed from Barret.[ 5 ]Additionally, Poe used internal rimes such as the followers:

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood at that place inquiring, fearing, Doubting, woolgathering dreams no mortal of all time dared to woolgather before ; ( 25-26 )

The most obvious literary technique used in this verse form is repeat: The last 11 stanzas terminal with the word “ Nevermore ” ( e.g. 48 ) or “ never again ” ( 108 ) , while the first seven stanzas terminal with “ nil more ” except for the 2nd stanza, which ends with “ evermore ” ( 12 ) .

Occasionally, Poe offered implicative allusion – to mythology ( “ Pallas ” which refers to Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom ; “ Plutonian ” which is related to Pluto, God of the underworld ) and to the Bible ( “ is there balm in Gilead? ” drawn from the scriptural “ Is there no balm in Gilead ; is there no doctor at that place? why so is non the wellness of the girl of my people recovered? ” [ Jeremiah 8:22 ] ) .[ 8 ]

3. Fictional characters

3.1 The Narrator

The storyteller is a pupil[ 9 ]who mourns for his asleep love Lenore. When a Corvus corax enters his chamber, he starts inquiring him inquiries. The raven responds to every inquiry with ‘Nevermore ‘ .

3.2 Lenore

Lenore is a dead immature adult female in The Raven for whom the storyteller mourns. He speaks of his “ sorrow for the lost Lenore ” ( 10 ) as he glorifies her “ whom the angels name Lenore ” ( 11 ) . When the torment of the storyteller in the verse form additions, he asks to “ bury this lost Lenore ” ( 83 ) .[ 10 ]The storyteller clearly wants to bury about his love, but glorifies her at the same clip naming her an angel several times throughout the verse form. Her position as “ a angelic maiden ” ( 94 ) and “ a rare and beaming maiden ” ( 95 ) remains integral throughout the verse form, and near the terminal of the verse form the talker states twice that she is the inaugural “ whom the angels name Lenore ” . ( 94, 95 )[ 11 ]

Poe experienced many calamities during his life clip which is why critics speculate on whom Lenore might stand for: It could be Poe ‘s loss of love – Sarah Elmira Royster – to marriage, the decease of his female parent when Poe was non yet three old ages old, the decease of alternate female parent Jane Stith Stanard, the decease of Foster female parent Frances Allan, or the expectancy of decease of his married woman Virginia.[ 12 ]It seems impossible to reply this inquiry as all these events could hold influenced Poe when he wrote The Raven.

4. The Raven

Poe stated in his essay “ The Philosophy of Composition ” that the Corvus corax had originally been a parrot, but he chose the Corvus corax in the terminal because he preferred it for its tone. However, the dependability of the information given in “ The Philosophy of Composition ” is questionable. Poe reviewed Chares Dickens ‘s fresh Barnaby Rudge in 1841 and 1842 in which he encountered a Corvus corax: He might hold considered how Dickens ‘s Corvus corax could be ‘improved ‘ .[ 13 ]

Poe ‘s description of the dramatic action of the verse form in his essay “ The Philosophy of Composition ” is as following:[ 14 ]

A Corvus corax, holding learned by rote the individual word ‘Nevermore ‘ , and holding escaped from the detention of its proprietor, is driven at midnight, through the force of a storm, to seek admittance at a window signifier which a visible radiation still gleams – the camber-window of a pupil, occupied half in concentrating over a volume, half in dreaming of a darling kept woman deceased.[ 15 ]

The reader might be drawn by the looking evil qualities of the bird and its singular leaning for appropiately reacting “ Nevermore ” to the talker ‘s questions.[ 16 ]But Poe ‘s description ( see quote above ) of the Corvus corax is instead simple.[ 17 ]

The black bird represents the talker ‘s infinite memory of his lost Lenore, and Poe ‘s constant memory of those he loved and lost.[ 18 ]The Corvus corax symbolizes the powers of defeat, nonsense, melancholy, desperation, and darkness, which haunt the immature adult male, whose love Lenore is dead.[ 19 ]